O What A Tangled Web

How much information is there available about Web, the Jersey Waterfront Enterprise Board? You'd be surprised as to how hard it is to locate some of it. Here are my researches with comments:

The site:

http://www.jerseywaterfront.je/

has lots of colourful graphic renderings and maps, but I looked in vain for any sign of who was on Web, and precisely what its responsibilities or powers were. It is basically a PR job site. Perhaps some of the employees of Web are internet Web designers?

Searching around, I found that the following are directors of web and not States Members:

Mr. Francis Gerald Voisin (Chairman)
Jurat John Claude Tibbo
Mr. Peter Joseph Crespel

Their term of office expires on 20th August 2009

And I was wondering: do they get paid? How much? And how many hours do they have to put in (remembering Gerald Voisin is also Chairman of the local branch of Allied Irish Bank)

Looking on the States website, there is (if you dig down) a ministerial decision which gives some details on States Members.

The current States' Directors are Senator P.F. Routier, Deputy J.J. Huet, and Senator J.L. Perchard, who were appointed on 28th March 2006 for a three-year period expiring on 31st March 2009

http://www.gov.je/StatesGreffe/MinisterialDecision/ChiefMinister/2006/web+appointment+of+chairman+and+directors.htm?printfriendly=true

Where are the accounts available from?

First of all I found this - really not informative to the public!

http://www.gov.je/StatesGreffe/MinisterialDecision/ChiefMinister/2006/Watrfront+Enterprise+Board+Annual+and+Quarterly+Accounts.htm

In accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company 'Waterfront Enterprise Board Limited' (WEB), the company is required to prepare annual accounts, together with interim quarterly accounts, and to
forward these to the Chief Minister.

And finally, to the accounts. The last annual accounts are for 2006, and as we are now in 2008, that seems rather slack, especially when one considers the problems Web is facing. Do we know when the 2007 accounts will be available? 2009 perhaps?

http://www.gov.je/NR/rdonlyres/53AC82BF-ADF2-4046-82C3-AF4D470B1CBF/0/WEBReportAccounts2006nosignatures.pdf

Executive Director - Mr D Margason (Managing Director)

Non Executive Directors
Mr P F Horsfall C.B.E.
Mr F G Voisin (Chairman)
Jurat J C Tibbo
Mr P J Crespel
Senator P Routier
Deputy J Huet
Senator J Perchard

Mr D Margason resigned as Managing Director with effect from 3 August 2006.

Mr P F Horsfall CBE retired as Chairman on 20 August 2006. Mr F G Voisin retired as a Director on 31 March 2006 and
was re-appointed as a Director and as Chairman on 20 August 2006. Senator J Perchard was appointed as a Director
on 1 April 2006. Senator P Routier and Deputy J Huet were reappointed as Directors for a three year term of office
on 1 April 2006. Jurat JC Tibbo and Mr P J Crespel were reappointed as Directors for a three year term of office
on 20 August 2006. The Company Secretary, who held office during the year was Mr R Woolf.

Note that the Managing Director is now Stephen Izzat - I got that from the JEP story on the Waterfront, as I was unable to find any single States page on www.gov.je giving details!

The Remuneration Committee comprises the States Non-Executive Directors. The Remuneration Committee
makes recommendations to the Board regarding the remuneration of both Executive and Non-Executive
Directors and senior management and considers the ongoing appropriateness and relevance of the remuneration policy.

Now the fun stuff. Remember that Stephen Izzat is now Managing Director, and David Margason was only paid for part of 2006 (until he resigned in August). Also Gerald Voisin took over from Pierre Horsfall in 2006, so his payment is only partial. The States members don't get anything - until they leave the States and come back as non-executive directors like Mr Voisin! Jobs for the boys!

David Margason £131,927 (2006)/ £189,702 (2005)

Non Executive Directors
Pierre Horsfall £19,032 (2006)/£30,000(2005)
F Gerald Voisin £10,904 (2006)
John C Tibbo £12,000 (2006)/£12,000 (2005)
Peter J Crespel £10,000 (2006)/£10,000 (2005)
Paul Routier - - - - -
Jacqui Huet - - - - -
James Perchard - - - - -

Total £183,863 (2006)/ 241,702 (2005)

Curiously however, the accounts show elsewhere:

Directors remuneration £217,986 (2006)/ £298,112 (2005).

The difference is in supplementary amounts, such as pension, benefits in kind, paid mainly to the Managing Director. So he leaves with a nice final salary pension too.

Employees
£423,234 (2006) / £345,901 (2005)

That's quite striking - one wonders how many there are, and what precisely they do? Unfortunately, that is not available in the accounts, and would need a question in the States.

http://www.gov.je/StatesGreffe/MinisterialDecision/TreasuryResources/2007/waterfront+enterprise+board+tax+status.htm

But this is interesting too:

Subsidiary

On 14 July 2006 La Haie du Puits Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company sold a freehold residential property

On 14 July 2006 La Haie du Puits Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Waterfront Enterprise Board Limited, sold a freehold residential property for a consideration of £730,000 following refurbishment paid for by the former Managing Director. Under the terms of the then Managing Director's contract of employment, Mr David Margason was entitled to retain the balance of the consideration offered by the purchaser in excess of £600,000 after taking account of costs of £3,040 and accordingly La Haie du Puits Limited received £600,000 and Mr Margason received the balance.

That means that Mr Margason left with £126,960 - quite a golden handshake!

Lastly this note is of interest.

Tax Free Status

The Minister decided to exempt the Waterfront Enterprise Board (WEB) and its associated enterprise under Article 115 of Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961 to extend to the profits generated insofar as the profits are expended wholly and exclusively to improve and extend public infrastructure and works for the good of the public of the Island.

Who sees Minutes of the Waterfront Enterprise Board? The States Members, obviously, but how well do they communicate this to the other States members to keep them informed about what is going on. How many staff do they employ? What exactly do these staff do? How many hours do the non-executive directors put in? What exactly are their responsibilities? Does the new managing director, Mr Stephen Izzat also have severance deals as part of his contract? If you find out, post a comment!

O what a tangled WEB they weave!